Blessing
by dublindarling
Summary: "But seriously, who are you? New member? Did Bats finally get over his Dickie-bird blues and get himself a new Robin?" Wally introduces his girlfriend to Artemis, who's just a bit less than enthusiastic about it. Wally/Linda, for those who read comics.


**A/N: This is set about four years after the formation of the team. I hope you like it!**

"Linda Park, welcome to Mount Jus - oh. Um, hey, Artemis."

"Baywatch." I nodded curtly, not even trying to hide my smirk. The look on his face was just priceless. But when isn't it? I set my bowl of popcorn on the coffee table, grabbed the remote, and turned the TV on, Conner's static channel crackling softly. I was so ready for an hour of vegging out, just me, myself, and -

Wait a second.

"Who the hell are _you_?"

"Uh, Artie, I can explain -"

"Shut up for a second, Kid Mouth, would you?" I stomped over to Wally and his new … friend. His new friend that under no circumstance that I know of should be here. She tucked a strand of her long, dark hair behind her ear, a small smile playing on her lips. I could feel my own hair whipping out behind me, crackling with its own energy. Oh, he was in trouble now. "I want to talk to your friend for a second."

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, his mouth pulling into a grimace. "She's not a _friend_, per se."

"Wally, shut up." His "not a friend" said, shoving a hand in his face. I raised my eyebrows, grudgingly impressed. Whoever this chick is, I kind of like her. She stuck her other hand towards me, smiling kindly. "Hi! I'm Linda, Wally's girlfriend."

I kept a straight face for all of two seconds, a time I felt was pretty impressive. But I just couldn't help it. I bent over, my laughter crippling me. Oh god, this was good. Just too good.

After a good minute of cackling, I finally straightened up with a last, hearty chuckle. I shook my head, unable to wipe the grin off of my face. This Linda chick looked pretty amused, but Wally? Not so much. He was alternating between the typical dirty look he reserved just for me and this cute little worried frown. He kept glancing down at Linda, who was a good head shorter than him. Whoever she is, he was obviously trying to impress her. Typical.

"That's a good one." I said, my grin fading as I absorbed their expressions and what they probably meant. "But seriously, who are you? New member? Did Bats finally get over his Dickie-bird blues and get himself a new Robin?" Okay, now I was getting a bit desperate.

Wally groaned and turned away, running a hand through his already messy hair. Linda rolled her eyes and shook her head, her irritation obviously directed towards Kid Idiot. But her smile said something totally different. I knew that look. I've felt what she's feeling, but that was such a long time ago. So long ago, but I'll never forget that smile. I'd seen it in the mirror one too many times.

"Oh my god." Shock was all I felt, and I'm pretty sure it was written all over my face. "You really _are _his girlfriend."

The only sound was the echo of the TV static. Linda seemed perfectly happy with my revelation as she grinned broadly, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Wally, on the other hand, knew me far too well. He knew how my mind worked, the _obvious_ conclusions I would draw. The horror had already spread across entirety of his face before I even opened my mouth.

"Wally, you _idiot_! You little -" That was all I could get out before he shoved his sweaty, disgusting little hand over my mouth, hushing me as he grinned anxiously at Linda. Oh, he'll regret this during training tomorrow.

"Linda, if you'll just - Artemis, licking my hand won't make me let go - excuse us for a sec." He swiped me up and dashed into the kitchen, all in the space of a millisecond. He placed me gently to my feet and backed up just as fast. Yeah, he definitely knew me too well. I stalked over, appreciating the fear in his bright green eyes. I shoved my finger into his chest and he leaned back, hands up in surrender.

"Wally West," I hissed, eyes narrowing as his widened. "I always knew you were an idiot, but really? Giving up your ID just to impress a girl? I though you were better than that!"

"Artemis, listen to me -" he tried to interject as he placed his hands on my shoulders. It all felt so familiar. We were so close together, practically inches apart …

"No, you listen to me," I said, pushing his hands off as I backed away. "This isn't just about you, Wally. You're putting the entire team at risk here. What were you thinking, bringing a civilian to the cave? Because I would -"

"I love her." He blurted. I stopped in my tracks, mouth opened wide. What? He swept a hand through his hair. I guess that was a new habit of his. Huh. I hadn't really noticed. "I love her so much, Artemis. I couldn't keep it from her anymore."

"I don't … You love her?" I crossed my arms and tried to hide my disappointment. It had been years since we had broken up, but it still hurt. It still hurt hearing him say he loved someone else. Someone who wasn't me.

Now that he had gotten the hard part out of the way, Wally seemed to relax. His shoulders fell down to their proper position and he leaned towards me, a smirk spreading across his face. "Let me put this in terms you can understand, oh great goddess of the hunt. D'you remember that  
>episode of Hannah Montana?" I slumped forward, groaning as I rubbed a hand down my face. Okay, so it doesn't really hurt so much anymore.<p>

"I know you know it!" he sang. Poker face, Artemis. Don't smile. Don't encourage the moron. "Poor Miley can't have a _real_ relationship with that hottie Jake if he doesn't know she's really," he looked around suspiciously before leaning towards me conspiratorially. And I didn't think my eyebrows could get any higher. "_Hannah Montana_."

"Really?" I asked, his smug grin only growing in size. "Can you take anything seriously?"

But just as suddenly as it appeared, the grin disappeared, only to be replaced by an earnestness I had never seen before. "I am serious about this, Artemis. I'm serious about Linda. I know what love is. I loved _you_, remember? And god, this is so much more than that."

"Ouch." I deadpanned, hands finding my hips. But I understood, then. If it was something even stronger than what we had, then maybe she really was worth it. Maybe Wally had really found his spitfire this time around.

"Try not to take offense, Beautiful." He grinned, throwing a lanky arm around my shoulders as we walked out of the kitchen and towards Linda. Like I said, he knew me. He knew I understood, and thank god for that. I didn't particularly want to give them my blessing or anything. I wasn't that happy about it. "And anyway, I'm not that averse to polygamy."

"Wallace!" Linda shrieked, but she grinned brightly as she shoved away the arm he tried to wrap around her own thin shoulders. I laughed and ducked out from his grasp, hopping on to the couch, ready to finally get on with my TV night.

But I didn't start right away. Pretending to look for the remote, I watched discreetly and slightly suspiciously as Wally and Linda walked down the main corridor. Don't blame me if I had my doubts. Wally, forever the dork, was gesturing wildly with one hand, obviously giving his girlfriend what he liked to call the "grandest of grand tours". It was the other hand that interested me, though. It was clutching Linda's tightly, desperately. They were swinging their arms between them and I could hear Linda laugh as she laid her head on Wally's shoulder. Okay, fine. They were pretty cute.

I couldn't help but smile fondly as I finally "found" the remote and turned on the TV. I was happy for Wally, I really was. And honestly, if he did ask for my blessing or whatever, I would probably have to give it to them. My smile turned to a full blown grin. But maybe not as grudgingly as I thought.


End file.
